Legal Notes Archive

The recent advent of extraordinary technological advances has made it possible to provide easy access to city information and data. It has also presented an unprecedented opportunity to improve services and provide this information in formats that enable city residents and businesses to create or obtain programs that can manipulate and readily interpret and evaluate data made available or disclosed upon request. Cities are at a crossroads. As public stewards of information in this “brave new world,” we must balance the public’s interest in and right to public information against our residents’ privacy rights and interests. We must simultaneously protect the privacy rights of residents while providing open and transparent access to government information.

In dealing with public encampments
and vehicle habitation, city
officials must be sensitive to the
constitutional rights of the affected
individuals, who are often homeless,
and the many related complex
social welfare challenges.

Few city officials or residents favor the idea of repealing an ordinance intended to protect children from sexual predators, but many cities with such ordinances are being forced to do just that as a result of legal challenges. By moving quickly and carefully, city councils can address the appellate rulings and avoid paying for the privilege of repealing their ordinances.

This article presents the current legal constraints and considerations related to local regulation of sober living homes and residential alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities, which is limited by state law.

The Legislature’s elimination of redevelopment agencies in 2012 stripped cities of several important tools to address blight in the community. Meanwhile, contamination or the threat of contamination still serves as a blighting influence in many California communities. The Gatto Act provides local agencies with a tool to address brownfields.

Wireless industry lobbyists continue to advocate before Congress, state legislators and the Federal Communications Commission that local zoning requirements are a barrier that must be cleared away. It is not too late to voice concerns, and city officials have many reasons to do so.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is the primary state law that requires public agencies and their decision-makers to understand and evaluate the environmental consequences of their discretionary decisions before making them. Moreover, CEQA requires that public agencies not only consider but take action to mitigate or avoid significant adverse environmental impacts where feasible.

Over the past several years, California cities and counties have faced the issue of whether to permit or ban medical marijuana dispensaries. Many cities imposed bans or prohibited dispensary operation, while others required permits, business licenses and regulations. The California Supreme Court has affirmed that cities have the authority and the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within their boundaries.